Namoi Valley farmers are frustrated the NSW Upper House has voted to block a floodplain harvesting regulation for the fourth time, playing politics when growers are calling for action.
The regulation to licence the long-standing legal form of water take, floodplain harvesting, was disallowed in the Legislative Council last Wednesday but the regulation regarding metering and the rainfall runoff exemption associated with it was not disallowed.
Namoi Water executive officer Mick Coffey said farmers are in favour of the proposed water reform even though it will result in them accessing less water than they currently do.
“We still recognise the need for reform and support the regulation which will ensure floodplain harvesting water take is accurately licensed, measured and metered to ensure downstream communities, the environment and Indigenous water needs are met,” said Mr Coffey who is based in Narrabri.
He said the disallowance was “an enormous source of frustration” to farmers in the Namoi catchment.
“We’re standing here today with the Namoi in flood for the third time in 2022, there’s still 72,000 megalitres per day coming down the Namoi towards Narrabri from the Mooki, Peel and Cox’s Creek.
“Keepit Dam is 98 per cent full, and Split Rock 97 per cent.
“The Menindee Lakes are at 104 per cent per cent full, there’s 24,000 ML per day being released from the lakes into the Lower Darling and the Anabranch.
“The Murray, Edward and Murrumbidgee rivers in the south are in flood.
“It’s flabbergasting that there’s certain people in Macquarie Street that still don’t get it.
“Floodplain harvesting only happens when, guess when? In a flood situation,” said Mr Coffey.
Mr Coffey praised Member for Barwon Roy Butler and One Nation’s MLC Mark Latham for speaking in support of the NSW government’s water reform and against the disallowance motion.
The disallowance motion was not supported by the NSW Lower House on August.
“The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers and One Nation have done their due diligence.
“They have researched, consulted, engaged, and considered the regulations in their entirety, and have made the clear decision to support the current NSW government’s endeavour to see these regulations to fruition.
“I congratulate Roy Butler and his cohorts on their efforts Mr Butler and Mr Latham both have constituents on both sides of the fence here and have considered all views carefully and have not been swayed by any political horse trading.”
Mr Coffey said the NSW government had previously encouraged farmers in the Northern Basin to invest in on farm storage dams to prepare for drier times, make the most of raging rivers and flooding plains, and to hold water for irrigation as the Northern Basin is very different to the Southern Basin regarding reliability.
“The ability to take water and store it in these dams when there are flood events for times when there is limited water from other sources is exactly what the government wanted to ensure so farmers could continue to grow crops, which in turn contributes to lessening the social and economic effects of dry times and droughts.
“Floodplain harvesting being regulated and licensed will result in more water being available to go downstream than it currently does.
“Those who continue to waste taxpayer money by blocking this reform keep touting they don’t want to see ‘big wealthy northern irrigators getting all the water’ but do the math – less water to grow crops means less money made, therefore less money spent in local communities from the flow on benefits such as employment and the contributions to local businesses by these people they currently demonise, and therefore entire communities are affected by the socio-economic impacts of the regulations.”
Mr Coffey added a final observation, “There’s no science left in this debate; Namoi Water is extremely frustrated.
“It’s simply now quite obviously a case of politics and the end goal has been lost sight of.
“We are now in the ludicrous position where there are two catchments – Gwydir and Border Rivers – which are fully licensed and subject to the regulations, and the other three northern basin catchments – Namoi, Barwon-Darling, and Macquarie – continue under the same as has been until the regulations can be put up to parliament again in another four months in January 2023.
“Hopefully by then common sense will prevail.”
